Halper , who is scheduled to open the 14th Top Ten store in the Twin Cities this August , is always reassessing the business . His experience includes a stint at the massive retailer Target , “ which is amazing at teaching you how to compete and put your best foot forward .”
Halper did express admiration for his largest rival . “ Total Wine is a great retailer — we look at them so much because they are successful . They are a reality , and we have to fight everyday to combat them .”
The panel “ Trends on the Rise , Trends on the Decline ” touched on some of the hottest movements in beverage alcohol retail — and those that are perhaps cooling off .
For instance , store pick single barrel whiskeys . “ Everybody ’ s doing it . Every brand is doing it . It blew up too quickly , there ’ s not enough to differentiate ,” said Todd Randall , owner of Randall ’ s Wine and Spirits , our 2023 host store . “ All these picks from the same brand got released at the same time in the same market ; the market got flooded .”
Elsewhere in brown spirits , what about American single malt ?
“ American single malt marketing will get better now that the TTB has given it its own classification ,” said Rob Bratskeir , General Manager of Three Cheers PR , which represents a number of organizations and brands in the beverage industry .
“ Is American single malt like Japanese whisky , where no one knew anything and now everyone knows everything ?” suggested Lester Jones , Chief Economist at the National Beer Wholesalers Association . In other words : Will the switch flip fast in consumer minds , and allow American single malt to take off ?
And for that matter , how much more runway is left , in general , for our current American whiskey boom ? Jones believed that speculation remained difficult . “ Finding the top of the market [ for whiskey ] is the holy grail , as in every market ,” he said .
That said , the three members of the trends panel were in agreement : There is plenty of runway left for American whiskey . Especially as more consumers enter into the category and begin their learning
Our partner sponsors supplied wine and spirits for attendees to sample during the store visit to Randall ’ s on BARC ’ s opening night .
www . beveragedynamics . com June 2023 • Beverage Dynamics 23